Kettering man pleads guilty for White House incident

Friday

Oct 4, 2013 at 12:01 AMOct 5, 2013 at 10:34 AM

WASHINGTON - A Kettering, Ohio man pleaded guilty today to a felony count of using his Jeep as a dangerous weapon last June when he rammed a light post and barricade at the White House as part of a protest against the federal government.

Jack Torry, The Columbus Dispatch

WASHINGTON — A federal judge told an Ohio man he is “lucky to be alive” after he pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony charge of crashing his Jeep into a White House barricade in June. Authorities said the crash was part of a plot to distract Secret Service officers long enough to allow him to spray-paint a protest sign on the White House.

Joseph Clifford Reel of Kettering entered his plea the day after Capitol Hill police shot and killed a woman who rammed her car into barriers at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Reel faces nearly three years in federal prison and fines ranging from $6,000 to $60,000. He did not succeed in his plan to spray-paint the White House.

Reel, 32, will remain in jail without bond until a hearing in January.

The Jeep, which Reel rigged to operate without a driver as it crashed into the barricades, caused $5,345 in damage to a light post and steel barriers.

Reel told the court that after his arrest, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He also said he has been taking medication and cooperating with a court psychiatrist.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness in which a person’s mood can swing sharply between bursts of high energy and deep depression. Drugs often are effective to combat many of the symptoms.

Federal prosecutors made documents public that revealed Reel’s elaborate plan to spray-paint “ Don’t Tread on Me Snake’’ on the walls of the White House.

According to the documents, Reel thought that “other people would see what he did and it would inspire them to all come together to stand up against the government.”

Reel left Kettering on June 6 and the next day bought a can of green spray paint from a Walmart in Frederick, Md., about

50 miles from Washington.

The next day, he drove to suburban Washington, parked his Jeep at Arlington National Cemetery, and walked past the national monuments and the White House “in an effort to educate himself on the security measures.”

At 3:04 a.m. on June 9, Reel telephoned 911 to report “a threat made against the president of the United States.” He told the operator “there was a Secret Service guy I was talking to. They were saying that they were going to stage something outside of the White House, like a car wreck.”& amp; amp; lt; /p>

Four minutes later, Reel arranged for his Jeep to crash into a barrier near the White House. Reel hoped the distraction would allow him to jump the fence protecting the White House and the adjacent Old Executive Office Building, which houses the White House staff.

However, when Reel jumped the fence, Secret Service officers arrested him. A search of his Jeep turned up 200 rounds of ammunition and two machetes but no guns or explosives.

When authorities searched Reel’s Kettering home, they discovered two handguns, a baseball bat with spikes on the barrel, a sword, a spear, two ballistics vests, four hunting knives and a gas mask.